The two firms locked horns after Halsall alleged that Vivid had made threats to a major retailer telling it not to stock Halsall’s Giant Water Slide because it infringed copyright of its own Ultimate Splash Attack Slide, resulting in Halsall losing the order.

Halsall says Vivid has agreed to pay full damages and legal costs in settlement and couldn’t resist taking a swing at boss Nick Austin, with a spokesman saying: “This result totally vindicates the action Halsall took to defend their rights and reiterated how disappointing it was that the CEO of a major toy company should behave in this way.”

Vivid, however, played down the row, saying: "This is a minor dispute, relating to an order for only 1,000 water slides. In light of the minor nature of the dispute, Vivid is pleased that it has now been resolved, allowing both parties to continue to market their product to retailers without wasting the court's valuable time. Since this dispute began with Halsall, Manley ToyQuest, the supplier of Vivid's waterslides has confirmed in writing to Vivid that it has been granted a Chinese manufacturing patent number 200530138564.3 for the waterslide."

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